1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data networks and, more particularly, to processing data packets that require encryption or decryption.
2. Description of Related Art
Internet Protocol security (IPsec) refers to a set of protocols developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to support the secure exchange of packets at the IP layer. To support IPsec, sending and receiving devices execute an Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol that establishes parameters associated with encrypting and decrypting packets sent between the sending and receiving devices.
In conventional systems that support IPsec, a general purpose CPU coupled to a memory system receives IP packets and converts the IP packets to IPsec packets. The general purpose CPU performs these operations via software instructions stored in the memory system. This approach has many problems.
One problem associated with converting IP packets to IPsec packets in this manner is that the general purpose CPU is typically unable to provide sufficient performance in high speed systems. That is, the general purpose CPU is unable to generate the IPsec packets quickly enough to support the data rates of many high speed communication systems.
Therefore, there exists a need for systems and methods that improve the processing associated with supporting IPsec.